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Breese Blow Secures Win

And the point they received propelled Dynamos to the top of the North Group table – the spot which Yorkshire would have occupied had they won.

In a game of fluctuating fortunes, Yorkshire would have gained a fifth consecutive victory in the competition if Darren Gough had not been no-balled in the penultimate over by umpire Allan Jones because they had insufficient fielders inside the circle.

The ball to Breese went for two leg byes but the no-ball meant that a total of three runs were added to the score.

Chasing a 160-run target, Durham were 146 for seven when the final over arrived and although Liam Plunkett took two off the first ball from Tim Bresnan the next two deliveries were hit straight back to the bowler.

Plunkett then drove a leg-side boundary but with eight needed off two balls he could only manage a single to leave Breese on strike for the final delivery which cleared the fence at extra cover.

Yorkshire all-rounder Richard Pyrah, though, took the man-of-the-match award after he became the county’s first bowler in Twenty20 cricket to take four wickets – and all of them were key dismissals.

He began by trapping opener Phil Mustard lbw for a fiercely struck 40 off 28 balls, including six fours and a six after the wicketkeeper-batsman and Michael Di Venuto had got Durham’s reply off to a dashing start with a first-wicket stand of 49 in five overs.

Richard Pyrah became the first Yorkshire bowler to take four wickets in the competition

Matthew Hoggard bowled Di Venuto and had Will Smith caught by Jacques Rudolph at mid-off.

Durham were just beginning to get on top again when Dale Benkenstein drove Pyrah high to Bresnan at cover and the next ball to Albie Morkel brought a towering straight drive with Hoggard judging the boundary catch to perfection as he ran round from long-off.

Pyrah’s final victim in his spell of 4-20 from four overs was Shaun Pollock who cut tamely to Michael Vaughan at backward point.

Put in to bat, Yorkshire were once again indebted to Anthony McGrath who continued his astonishing run of form with a sparkling 65 off 58 balls with six fours and a six.

McGrath has been Yorkshire’s top-scorer in five of their six Twenty20 matches this season and he has now plundered 354 runs at an average of 59.

Yorkshire lost openers Andrew Gale and Gerard Brophy in the first three overs with only 17 scored but Vaughan and McGrath both played some elegant shots in a stand worth 61 in seven overs.

Vaughan, who had made 34 from 24 balls with five fours, lifted Stephen Harmison to brother Ben at deep square-leg, to bring in Rudolph who put on 74 in nine overs with McGrath.

Plunkett had Rudolph lbw for 33 and Stephen Harmison snatched three wickets in four balls in the final over, including that of McGrath whose sliced drive was caught by Di Venuto.